Where touring is concerned, Cody Jinks headed into 2024 with momentum on his side. Having previously sold out shows at some of the largest venues in the U.S.—including the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre—he embarked on a co-headlining tour with Turnpike Troubadours and supported Luke Combs’ stadium tour. Along with these bigger shows, Jinks made appearances at festivals like Bourbon & Beyond and Zakk Wylde Presents’s Berzerkus—and booked headlining shows to support his latest studio album, Change The Game, that stretched over two hours. “When the crowd knows that we're going to play 28, 29 songs a night—put your seat belt on,” Jinks says. “We have a lot of shit to cover.” With these longer sets came a bigger stage configuration with three tiers and décor like neon signs that was designed to look like a gritty honky-tonk bar. In the hands of other bands, such a huge set could feel isolating or create distance between performers and fans. But Jinks and his band—guitarists Chris Claridy and Jake Lentner, bassist Josh Thompson, pedal steel guitarist Austin “Hot Rod” Tripp, organist/keyboardist Matt Nolen and drummer Dave Colvin—went out of their way to engage with the crowd. Among other things, they nodded to the honky-tonk vibe with a stripped-down, three-song acoustic set complete with barstools. At other times, the instrumentalists embraced spontaneity. “It's a rock and roll show,” Jinks says. “We’re running around everywhere rocking out. Everybody runs around all over the stage with their wireless packs, getting as close to the crowd as we can. You really don't know what anybody's going to do.” To Jinks, this approach only enhances the connection he has with his loyal fanbase, which has translated to him selling millions of tickets sold to date. “We've been on the road doing it just our style,” he says. “We’ve never had the smoke machines, lasers or fire or anything like that. But we definitely had a heck of a light show, and made it really fun. It was really a crowd participation show this year, and they accepted what we were doing.”
